Jump to content
IGNORED

Building a DIY Music Server


Recommended Posts

12 minutes ago, Nenon said:

As good as the SGM Extreme is, at this point, my nVidia TV Shield Pro, this $200 piece of gear that has no right to be fed data from an expensive QSA Gamma Infinity LAN cable and powered by a Paul Hynes SR4 LPSU with QSA Silver fuse and a Gamma Infinity power cord was outperforming a $30k music server that I consider to be the best in the world. Compared to the Extreme, the nVidia device sounded a touch more forward than I would like but otherwise, dynamics, sound staging, air, clarity, and tone were either on par or better than the Extreme now. It was bad enough that until I got the Spectra back yesterday, I had decided to shut down the Extreme.

 

13 minutes ago, Nenon said:

I received several messages after people read those comments. The idea that a $200 nVidia TV Shield Pro + $4000 (on sale for $2500 at the moment) LAN cable + $4000 (on sale for $2500 at the moment) Power cord, a decent LPS (it does not have to be the SR4, as the key here is the QSA treatment), and a $5000 fuse is as good as the Taiko Extreme is intriguing.

 

Honestly, I can't figure out if this result is an insult to Extreme or the marvel of QSA products.

 

14 minutes ago, Nenon said:

And it kind of fits into building a DIY server thread, although it's not exactly building a server. 

 

Well, this seems like now there is no point in building expensive music server if a couple of QSA treated cables can do a better job with a cheap $200 device. A tough pill to swallow though.

Link to comment
2 minutes ago, Dev said:

 

Here is some food for thought on the fuse side of things. Note, using or not using a fuse for sound quality is one thing, using it for safety is another :-)

 

https://www.verafiaudiollc.com/products/best-audio-products/swiss-digital-fuse-box-52299809

 

safety, PAH ;-)

 

I smell smoke, or the fire alarm does it ;-)

 

seriously, I know....yet a few months ago during a listening session we smelled 'hot metal'....and after an hour or so I started investigating...and it turned out that the one piece WITH a fuse was in meltdown....a bought (I know , misstake nr 1) LPSU for the switch and router was overheating to the point where the transformer coil melted.

ISP, glass to Fritz!box 5530, another Fritz!box 5530 for audio only in bridged mode on LPS, cat8.1, Zyxel switch on LPS, Finisar <1475BTL>Solarflare X2522-25G, external wifi AP, AMD 9 16 core, passive cooling ,Aorus Master x570, LPSU with Taiko ATX, 8Gb Apacer RAM, femto SSD on LPS, Pink Faun I2S ultra OCXO on akiko LPS, home grown RJ45 I2S cable, Metrum Adagio DAC3, RCA 70-A and Miyaima Zero for mono, G2 PL519 tube amps. 

Link to comment
9 minutes ago, Toymanmark said:

What are your temperatures like at idol nothing playing and temperatures as you go from 44.1 files+?

 

They are in the mid 40’s at idle. I have all PCI slots currently filled including 10 M.2’s which are contributing to the overall system temperature.

 

Upsampling increases the power consumption by approx. 10 watts per CPU which raises their temperature to approx. 60 degrees Celsius. 

 

The event which got me a bit concerned was when I commited 4 cores of one CPU for some Roon File Analysis. The temperature then raised to 90 degrees which was getting a bit to hot for my taste. A bit disappointing given that one still has 16 additional cores which could be utilized. All that horse power and no where to put it …

 

Link to comment
9 minutes ago, MarcelNL said:

good to know that not using a fuse is great for sound AND saves 5K ;-)

Actually, as crazy as it may sound, using their $5K fuse sounds better than bypassing the fuse completely. I've tried this on several different components. The only place where the fuse wasn't an improvement was on my phono stage, which is all with silver wire - hookup wire, transformers, chokes, etc. For some reason that $5K fuse did not sound good there, and that has something to do with the silver wire. But it was pretty good improvement everywhere else. 

I did not end up paying $5K for a fuse... that's too crazy for me... but I've done all these experiments. 

 

3 minutes ago, Dev said:

Honestly, I can't figure out if this result is an insult to Extreme or the marvel of QSA products.

I brought these latest comments here to Romaz's attention. Hopefully he will chime in at some point. However, it has nothing to do with Taiko. He is too excited about QSA.

As far as I remember, there was a continuation to the nVidia story. He added a QSA Lanedri Spectra power cord to his Extreme, and the nVidia had no chance to compete. 

FWIW, he even told me that he would not upgrade his Wilson Audio speakers if he could not find a way to use the QSA technology as part of building the upgraded speakers. So you can take this as a confirmation that this is all about QSA and nothing against the brands in quesiton.

 

6 minutes ago, Dev said:

A tough pill to swallow though.

Indeed.

Actually, I have everything I need to perform this test except the cheapest part - the $200 nVidia. I honestly have no motivation to buy one of those nVidias and try this. There are much more exciting experiments in my queue. Whenever I run out of exciting things to test, I can give it a try and report back. 

I have just received and set up new speakers. Receiving new tubes on Friday. The Taiko switch and NIC should be shipped to me tomorrow. The list goes on... and nVidia is not even on it at the moment. 

Industry disclosure:
https://chicagohifi.com

Dealer for: Taiko Audio, Conrad Johnson, Audio Mirror, and Sean Jacobs

Link to comment

I'm game trying that experiment if QSA sends me a free 5K fuse and whatever fuse holder they choose...I have actually listened to a 10 cm piece of bare wire and compared that after cutting it and soldering back together,, the difference is not trivial.

 

 

ISP, glass to Fritz!box 5530, another Fritz!box 5530 for audio only in bridged mode on LPS, cat8.1, Zyxel switch on LPS, Finisar <1475BTL>Solarflare X2522-25G, external wifi AP, AMD 9 16 core, passive cooling ,Aorus Master x570, LPSU with Taiko ATX, 8Gb Apacer RAM, femto SSD on LPS, Pink Faun I2S ultra OCXO on akiko LPS, home grown RJ45 I2S cable, Metrum Adagio DAC3, RCA 70-A and Miyaima Zero for mono, G2 PL519 tube amps. 

Link to comment
5 minutes ago, Nenon said:

Indeed.

Actually, I have everything I need to perform this test except the cheapest part - the $200 nVidia. I honestly have no motivation to buy one of those nVidias and try this. There are much more exciting experiments in my queue. Whenever I run out of exciting things to test, I can give it a try and report back. 

I have just received and set up new speakers. Receiving new tubes on Friday. The Taiko switch and NIC should be shipped to me tomorrow. The list goes on... and nVidia is not even on it at the moment. 

 

In a typical audiophile's world, there are always new influx of things. I do not know a single person, including myself, that has been listening to the same set of electronic/cables/speakers/tweaks over a long period of time - things are always moving. However, if I was in that category, I would be blessed 😀 

Link to comment
5 minutes ago, Exocer said:

I didn't need to spend $5000 to draw the same conclusion with QSA Yellow fuses FWIW. 

 

Unfortunately, I tried QSA yellow and did not like it at all. I was smitten initially but then over time it felt like things were exaggerated and sounded very unnatural. I have also compared with others, like SR and AM but finally settled in with a combination of AM M1 and SR Purple in different places but never felt QSA had the edge. Maybe a higher priced QSA is a different tell but I don't feel like spending $5k on a fuse that might just blow one day.

Link to comment
29 minutes ago, Nenon said:

Actually, I have everything I need to perform this test except the cheapest part - the $200 nVidia.

I’d be happy to loan you mine.

Digital:  Sonore opticalModule > Uptone EtherRegen > Shunyata Sigma Ethernet > Antipodes K30 > Shunyata Omega USB > Gustard X26pro DAC < Mutec REF10 SE120

Amp & Speakers:  Spectral DMA-150mk2 > Aerial 10T

Foundation: Stillpoints Ultra, Shunyata Denali v1 and Typhon x1 power conditioners, Shunyata Delta v2 and QSA Lanedri Gamma Revelation and Infinity power cords, QSA Lanedri Gamma Revelation XLR interconnect, Shunyata Sigma Ethernet, MIT Matrix HD 60 speaker cables, GIK bass traps, ASC Isothermal tube traps, Stillpoints Aperture panels, Quadraspire SVT rack, PGGB 256

Link to comment
3 hours ago, di-fi said:

Confusing for me and apparently also for  @kennyb123&@Blackmorec who he kind of aggressively accused of trying to get to understand this secret cable treatment.

Actually not confusing to me as I’m a happy customer of QSA Lanedri.  I can’t explain how or why the QSA process is so effective but that it’s effective is undeniable.  

Digital:  Sonore opticalModule > Uptone EtherRegen > Shunyata Sigma Ethernet > Antipodes K30 > Shunyata Omega USB > Gustard X26pro DAC < Mutec REF10 SE120

Amp & Speakers:  Spectral DMA-150mk2 > Aerial 10T

Foundation: Stillpoints Ultra, Shunyata Denali v1 and Typhon x1 power conditioners, Shunyata Delta v2 and QSA Lanedri Gamma Revelation and Infinity power cords, QSA Lanedri Gamma Revelation XLR interconnect, Shunyata Sigma Ethernet, MIT Matrix HD 60 speaker cables, GIK bass traps, ASC Isothermal tube traps, Stillpoints Aperture panels, Quadraspire SVT rack, PGGB 256

Link to comment
20 hours ago, Toymanmark said:

My Temps on my dual 4210 across all 20 cores according to Euphony v4 range from 32-38 degrees. This is after playing music for hours on end! This is Stylus alone with no upsampling! Yes this is in the Taiko case. Curious what temps you are getting?

 

I also wanted to thank you for your heroic efforts on reviewing so many power supplies. It helped tremendously in picking my path.

 

 All I can say is a Sean Jacobs based supply I built is incredible. I did 3 x 5 volt rails for Network card USB card and the OS m.2 femto card.

 

Everyone,

 

Just wanted to let you know that the "heroic efforts" which @Toymanmark were referring to above are meant for Audio Bacon. Although Audio Bacon and I share a passion for Music and a certain breakfast meat, we are not one and the same, and I certainly don't want to take credit for someone else's hard work.  

Link to comment
20 hours ago, di-fi said:

I have a problem with Romaz being the audiophile we all know for many years of sharing his subjective experiences (I have various Romaz pages bookmarked) lending his name to QSA Lanedri cables.  He is a leader having many followers. A very inspiring audiophile to follow because of very detailed experiences he shares with the community.

 

Now suddenly he pops up on a commercial WBF page heavily promoting very expensive cables (in the ++ US$ 1000 range) that according to Romaz make a US $200 device sound better than a US$ 30K Extreme (does it sound to good to be true?). Also according to him all those cables sound better than anything else because of a secret cable treatment that Romaz knows together with the owner of QSA. No detailed Romaz style reviews / descriptions and trials this time, a few paragraphs only.

Romaz also seems to have access to all these cables and he can even have his personal cables treated as well at QSA. He also confirmed he designed himself (or was involved in the design of) a few of the new cables. Orders currently seem to come in by the hundreds without listening (30 day trial). Some clients order 5 or 6 cables at the same time adding up to $10k or $20k orders. The new owner, Lanedri, just bought the business in 2021, will he deliver? time will tell.

 

This makes me wonder what exactly is Romaz commercial interest in this? He made it very clear he is sharing his promotional talk in a specific WBF commercial segment paid for by QSA. Confusing for me and apparently also for  @kennyb123&@Blackmorec who he kind of aggressively accused of trying to get to understand this secret cable treatment. Now they, as I was, thought they were having an exchange with the @romaz we all know , but this almost seems an other Romaz (II) strictly talking about the benefits of QSA cables in this commercial segment of WBF and as far as I know not anywhere else where we usually can exchange with Romaz (I). I find this very confusing. It seems to me he used his (well known) name Romaz , maybe unwillingly, to help facilitate the sale of QSA cables. We'll see how this develops, maybe I am wrong but I find it a little awkward. I guess all I am saying;  if someone is wearing two different hats, just be aware. 

 

And sorry if this is slightly off-topic, but my way of  

Thanks @seeteeyou

 

I have no clue what's going on behind the scenes in this specific case, but I know that cable manufacturers frequently roam forums, messaging people, giving away or selling cables at steep discounts to those people, in exchange for public posting about the cables. Some times the agreement is unspoken, and more based on a history of behavior on display by certain people who post about products. 

 

Again, I have no clue about this specific case.

Founder of Audiophile Style | My Audio Systems AudiophileStyleStickerWhite2.0.png AudiophileStyleStickerWhite7.1.4.png

Link to comment
16 minutes ago, The Computer Audiophile said:

 

I have no clue what's going on behind the scenes in this specific case, but I know that cable manufacturers frequently roam forums, messaging people, giving away or selling cables at steep discounts to those people, in exchange for public posting about the cables. Some times the agreement is unspoken, and more based on a history of behavior on display by certain people who post about products. 

 

Again, I have no clue about this specific case.

 

FWIW, here is Romaz's reply: https://whatsbestforum.com/threads/qsa-lanedri-series.36078/post-857677

 

Quote

Fair points and I'm happy to answer. Do I have a commercial interest in QSA or QSA-Lanedri? No, as already stated, I do not. Fortunately, I am in a position financially where I do not require alternate sources of income. With the exception of a few prototypes, I've had to pay for my cables. I can afford to do so.

What is my relationship with QSA? I have none. I've never met or spoken with Steven. Like the rest of you, I have my guesses but I have no clue what his treatment entails.

What is my relationship with Anas? Initially, we were just fellow audiophiles who met here on WBF. Today, I would classify him as a friend . Having gotten to interact with him through the R&D process, he is a person of high integrity. He is a kind person and a family man. That's what I know of him. But we have never personally met.

Do I have a bias for these cables? Yes, as anyone might expect since I've poured hours of effort into their R&D and so read into that what you wish but once again, I have no financial stake. I think this treatment is the future and will change the face of audio as we know it. I am literally floored by how transformative this treatment is and if you hear passion in my posts, it's because it's genuine. As more and more experience them, see for yourself if I am alone in my excitement. Whatever the heck has been done to these cables, the end results are mind blowing and I won't be surprised if speaker and electronics manufacturers start lining up wishing to collaborate with QSA.

What was my motivation for getting involved? Initially, it was to help a fellow audiophile but also because I was intrigued. Anas and I came upon QSA independently. With the fuses I purchased from QSA, I was shocked how transformative they were, especially the silver fuse. I was plenty busy but if a fuse could sound this good, what must a treated cable sound like? That was the thought that was in my head. Once I got to hear the first treated cable, I knew right away this path had huge potential and my curiosity grew. Did I get paid for my efforts. No, not with money but like I said, I got to keep certain prototypes and got to experience things that were literally shocking. It was like going to Disneyland. No one has ever had to pay me to go to Disneyland.

What is my motivation for posting on a manufacturer's thread? Like others, Anas asked me to share my experiences. Because I have deeper experiences with these cables than others, I guess I have more experiences to share, more personal insights. But the depth of my involvement here is no different than other areas. I was so involved in the Chord DAVE thread on Head-Fi years ago that I was accused of having financial ties with Chord or with Rob Watts. Same thing with the Taiko Extreme thread. To be up front, I have been approached by various companies privately over the years to listen to things, to assist with R&D, and sometimes to share my experiences publicly and so when I was approached by Anas, it was nothing new to me but not once have I accepted monetary compensation from any audio company. I have listened to many things that didn't work for me. When that happens, out of respect to the manufacturer, I don't post about it and so you can say I don't do negative reviews. But when I do like something, I have no problem saying it.

Do I think these cables have flaws? Yes, they're expensive. I hate expensive cables, I always have. It seems easier to pay a lot of money for speakers or an amp but not for cables. I can appreciate why there is criticism for what these cables cost given how inexpensive the starting materials are.

Do I think these cables are unfairly priced? If it took Steven 22 years to develop this technology, this is clearly his life's work. I don't know how much has been invested into the R&D of this treatment and what he feels he needs to make to recoup his investment. While QSA treatment benefits from inexpensive starting materials, I have no clue if the treatment is labor intensive and what the ancillary costs related to the treatment might be. Of course, there's also Anas' overhead to consider. But as far as value is concerned, I cannot think of a higher value proposition than these cables. They are a higher value proposition than QSA's other products. Yes, I am biased since I had a hand in their design but even if I didn't, these cables are a serious game changer and so let me explain.

Yes, I've said that I have a $200 nVidia TV Shield Pro operating at the level of a $30k Taiko Extreme. Does that even make sense? And yet it's true. But that doesn't mean my Extreme is going anywhere. It just means the Extreme needs to up it's game and get QSA'd. The Extreme remains the very best music server I have heard but it's possible to seriously hobble it. It craves power like a hungry monoblock amplifier. If you use a 10awg power cord to power it, as good as you think the Extreme sounds, you aren't going to hear it's full potential, even if it's a QSA-treated power cord. When I applied a 6awg QSA-treated Sablon Prince to the Extreme and a 6awg QSA-treated Sablon Prince to my line conditioner where my Extreme was plugged into for the very first time a few weeks ago, I heard my Extreme perform in a way I had never heard before. That Extreme was a monster and in another league from the nVidia TV Shield Pro. When my QSA'd Sablon went out on loan to @austinpop so that he could audition it and when I shipped out the Sablon Prince that was powering the line conditioner to QSA-Lanedri to have it treated, as previously posted, I was forced to use lesser cables on the Extreme and line conditioner and that was when the Extreme collapsed to the extent that the nVidia could match it. Eventually, the Extreme will take its rightful throne again and yet that is the impact of QSA, that it can elevate a lowly device to SOTA-level performance and that's what I mean by serious game changer.

 

Industry disclosure:
https://chicagohifi.com

Dealer for: Taiko Audio, Conrad Johnson, Audio Mirror, and Sean Jacobs

Link to comment
16 minutes ago, The Computer Audiophile said:

 

I have no clue what's going on behind the scenes in this specific case, but I know that cable manufacturers frequently roam forums, messaging people, giving away or selling cables at steep discounts to those people, in exchange for public posting about the cables. Some times the agreement is unspoken, and more based on a history of behavior on display by certain people who post about products. 

 

Again, I have no clue about this specific case.

 

I've been reading his posts for years as many of us. I've had private communications with him as well. He's always been very helpful and I have nothing but respect for the efforts he's made in discovering and bringing to our community new products from around the world.  You can choose to follow his every word as many have. There are many people who just mimic what he buys.  If that's your bag then you'll be hearing a lot of great products, constantly improving or adapting your system and spending cash.  He's influenced things I've bought and I'm grateful.

 

That said, I've always thought he's received free access to products, if not free themselves for his endorsements.  If he truly believes in the product, which he seems to, then it's a valid endorsement.  When I hear statements like this I roll my eyes because it's hype.

 

"I have experienced certain $20k power cords, $30k DACs, and $50k amps that failed to have this level of impact"

"There is NOTHING that Anas and I have encountered in the past that compares to what QSA treatment offers. Not even close."

"the QSA-Lanedri cables are a game changer and they have changed how I now view the world"

"I would go with a full loom of QSA-Lanedri cables, start from the bottom if you have to but do everything you can to move up to the Ultimatum speaker cables. You may find that there is no need nor desire to go further"

 

But who knows, if QSA is the real deal then everything will be coated with it soon.  Hopefully it is real and it lasts.

 

Link to comment
3 hours ago, Johnseye said:

 

I've been reading his posts for years as many of us. I've had private communications with him as well. He's always been very helpful and I have nothing but respect for the efforts he's made in discovering and bringing to our community new products from around the world.  You can choose to follow his every word as many have. There are many people who just mimic what he buys.  If that's your bag then you'll be hearing a lot of great products, constantly improving or adapting your system and spending cash.  He's influenced things I've bought and I'm grateful.

 

That said, I've always thought he's received free access to products, if not free themselves for his endorsements.  If he truly believes in the product, which he seems to, then it's a valid endorsement.  When I hear statements like this I roll my eyes because it's hype.

 

"I have experienced certain $20k power cords, $30k DACs, and $50k amps that failed to have this level of impact"

"There is NOTHING that Anas and I have encountered in the past that compares to what QSA treatment offers. Not even close."

"the QSA-Lanedri cables are a game changer and they have changed how I now view the world"

"I would go with a full loom of QSA-Lanedri cables, start from the bottom if you have to but do everything you can to move up to the Ultimatum speaker cables. You may find that there is no need nor desire to go further"

 

But who knows, if QSA is the real deal then everything will be coated with it soon.  Hopefully it is real and it lasts.

 

@The Computer Audiophile& @Johnseye

First of all my reaction was to the @seeteeyoupost in this thread quoting this. It was almost off topic, but interesting still. It was too late to take my post away when I realized that. Here we are and now a last word for the benefit of every audio forum participant.
 

My point was that on AS and WBF and any audio forum for that matter there is an exchange of ideas that can be followed by everyone. Besides that section WBF also have sponsored pages (like here at AS).
 

Now the same well known audiophile, Romaz in this case, that you’ve been following for a long time and you choose to trust or not in not-sponsored pages (whatever we do not know happens in the background), writes his opinion about a product but with ‘roll my eyes’ statements like the examples above and without much depth like he usually does and orders pile up.

 

It is in the WBF sponsored section, but does everyone still realise that? Judging by the posts of followers in that commercial section no they do not. Hence my post to create some awareness. (“fair points” he is “happy to answer” apparently). 

Now let’s go back to building (and listening!) to a DIY Music Server. And of course I hope for having access in the near future to even better wires & cables and that we all share those discoveries for the benefit of it.

Link to comment
10 minutes ago, Johnseye said:

 

It's also well timed with the February half off sale.  With a lot of people buying these cables now, we should get a lot more opinions and see if everyone's world views will change as a result ;)

 

so how many of you have put orders with Ultimatum series Infinity line ? With 1/2 off, its really cheap. I am told that is where most of the magic is.

Link to comment

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now



×
×
  • Create New...